


Opening Up

by asofthesea



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Peter Parker, Coming Out, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, NOT STARKER - Freeform, POV Tony Stark, Peter-centric, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 05:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15901650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asofthesea/pseuds/asofthesea
Summary: When Peter asks Tony for some advice, they both end up revealing something about their feelings.





	Opening Up

Tony knows something is off.

Usually, Peter’s stomach is a bottomless pit. The kid will eat anything that you put in front of him. Peter hasn’t touched his food yet. He swirls the noodles around his plate, not picking his head up.

Tony knows that Peter is nervous about something, but he has learned from experience to approach Peter with extreme caution when he is like this. It Tony says one thing wrong, Peter will shut down and refuse to talk about what is bothering him. Tony has to get Peter to open up to him.

He starts the conversation out light.

“So, how was school today?”

Peter shrugs and says, “It was okay I guess.”

Not much of an answer. He wishes May or Pepper was here right now. They were so much better at this stuff then he was.

It was just Peter and him tonight, so it was up to him to figure out what was going on with the kid. He didn’t know how he ever got himself in the position to be responsible for a kid’s feelings, but here he is.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He tries to ask the question with curiosity, but he isn’t surprised when it comes out laced with concern. Tony has never really been one to hide how he is feeling, especially when he is worried about those he cares about.

Peter lifts his head and looks at Tony, finally.

“It’s just high school stuff. Teenage angst.”

Peter tries to laugh it off, and at that moment Tony knows that something is wrong.

“Is it that Flash kid? Is he bothering you again? Because I swear I really don’t mind calling the school or showing up at the kid’s house to-”

“It isn’t Flash,” Peter interrupts, “He stopped bugging me so much after I defended him to Mr. Harrison to let him stay on the decathlon team. He really just teases me now, but that’s not what’s bothering me.”

Step one complete: Peter admits that something is bothering him.

“What is bothering you, then?”

Peter sighs and says, “I need some advice.”

Tony smiles and says, “Who better to give you advice than your mentor? Finally, my skills can be put to some good use.”

Peter looks back down at his plate and Tony gives him time to work up the courage to say what he needs to say. Tony feels something warm inside of him that Peter is actually going to ask him for the help that he needs. The kid usually tries to close himself off, but Tony feels special knowing that Peter feels comfortable enough to ask him for advice.

“I have a crush on a friend and I don’t know what to do.”

Before Tony can reply, the kid continues rambling.

“Like, I don’t want to ruin the friendship. Like what if I have one less friend just because I had to be stupid and talk about my feelings? I don’t want to lose a friend, Mr. Stark. I don’t know if you have noticed, but I don’t have many.”

Tony says, “First of all, I need you to take a deep breath with me.” Tony takes a deep breath and Peter joins him. He continues, “Second, your feelings aren’t stupid. I know you feel scared to ruin the friendship, but your feelings aren’t stupid. What you feel is real and it is okay if it takes you some time to tell your friend how you feel. Although, it is going to hurt to see them with other people and you need to shoot your shot if that’s what you want.”

Peter takes another deep breath and says, “I think, I want to be honest about my feelings. It would be best for everybody, I think.”

Tony gives Peter a reassuring smile and says, “That sounds like a good plan.” Peter nods his head and Tony asks, “So who is it? Is it Michelle?”

Peter shakes his head and says quietly, “No, it’s Ned.”

Tony sees the way the Peter bites his lip and glances at Tony, trying to read his face. He knows that he needs to act very careful here, he does not want to say something that would upset Peter.

“You and Ned are already practically married, I think everything will work out just fine.”

Peter lets out a breath and Tony smiles to himself, knowing that he handled this right. He doesn’t want to make this into a huge deal because he doesn’t want Peter to get embarrassed and close himself off. He also doesn’t want Peter to think he is interested or doesn’t care.

Tony does care, a whole lot about this kid. More than he is willing to admit to anyone.

“So, how long have you had these feelings?”

Peter shrugged and said, “I realized that I liked Ned a few weeks ago, but I’ve been questioning my feelings for a while now.”

Tony remains silent, allowing Peter to share exactly how much he wants.

“When I was in seventh grade, and we had our first school dance, I danced with some girls. I think I realized then, though, that I also wanted to dance with some boys. It scared me so I didn’t think about it for a long time after that. I was going to tell May and Ben, but then I became Spider-Man and I started hiding things from them. I hid this from them instinctively. You’re the first person I’ve told.”

Peter says it like it is not a big deal, but Tony knows that it is very much, a big deal.

Tony says, “I’m glad that you told me, Peter. I want you to know that if you want we don’t have to talk about it, but I am here if you want to. I want you to know that I don’t judge you for how you feel, and I’ll love you either way.”

Shit.

Tony just told the kid he loves him.

If Peter’s eyes widening tell him anything, the kid is just as shocked as he is.

Now it is Tony’s turn to ramble about his feelings.

“What I mean is that I care about you. In a totally platonic way. Like in the way an uncle or something, I mean-”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter interrupts his rambling and places his hand on Tony’s arm. Usually Tony doesn’t like people touching him, but he finds the kid’s touch oddly comforting.

“It’s okay,” Peter says, “I care about you, too. I didn’t think that I would ever get over Ben’s death, and I haven’t totally. I think that getting to know you better has helped me find some peace, though. And, thanks. I never got the chance to tell Ben about me being bisexual, but I think he would have reacted the same way you did.”

Tony is not going to cry, he isn’t.

He doesn’t trust himself to speak right now. He takes a few shaky breaths and Peter continues.

“I think before I tell Ned about my feelings, I’m going to tell, May first, though. She has always supported me, so she will still after this, right?”

Tony agrees, “May loves you more than life itself kid, and I think she’ll take you any way she can get you.”

Peter nods and says, “I think so, too.”

Nobody speaks for a few long seconds. Tony finally asks, “I think that our pasta got cold, maybe we should just order a pizza?”

Peter grins, “Sounds like a plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought! Please leaves kudos and/or a comment if you liked it!


End file.
